


One Heart

by BlissfulNightRain



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: F/M, SoKai Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:53:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25096417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlissfulNightRain/pseuds/BlissfulNightRain
Summary: The battle with Xehanort is not an easy one. Alone, there's no way Kairi can win, but perhaps with the most important person to her by her side... Canon. KH3. For SoKai Week 2020.
Relationships: Axel & Kairi (Kingdom Hearts), Kairi & Riku (Kingdom Hearts), Kairi/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13
Collections: SoKai Week 2020





	One Heart

The thin, glassy magic barrier was the singular thing that separated Kairi from the columns of fire that erupted all around and below her. It doubled as her only protection from the onslaught of Xehanort’s attacks, slashes of his keyblades and dark magic raining down all around her in a chaotic storm that threatened to overwhelm her senses. She had to keep reminding herself to stay sharp and alert, that this wasn’t just training anymore.

This was real.

Still, all the focus in the worlds wasn’t going to win this battle alone. What openings she was able to exploit earlier were no longer feasible options, Xehanort quickly learning her fighting style well enough to adapt and defend her attacks, leaving her with very few opportunities to take advantage of. Of course, she shouldn’t have been surprised, nor did she have the time to be - any energy she put towards lamenting for not having trained harder or longer was a waste. She couldn’t stay on the defensive forever. Somehow, someway, she was going to have to break through. But how?

Another barrage of Xehanort’s keyblades was incoming, and she wasn’t sure how much more her barrier could withstand. Bracing herself, she counted down the seconds to her most opportune chance.

Two of his keyblades planted themselves to her right.

Three behind her.

Several more to her left.

And then there was Xehanort, diving down like a hawk descending towards its prey. His golden eyes were locked onto her, glinting sinisterly through the cracks in his mask. The closer they got to her, the less time she had to act - she would need to do so quickly.

A loud crack erupted when the barrier finally shattered, its glittery shards flying in every direction. Xehanort reeled back ever so slightly, bracing himself for what moves he already foresaw. The little girl’s strikes were an easily deflected drizzle, each one of them easily guarded by the robustness of his armor, by the practiced ease he was still able to counterattack with. It wasn’t long before he was able to overpower her once more, and Kairi was back on the defensive.

Fire and lava erupted from the ground below her, and meteors rained down from the cataclysmic sky as Xehanort himself continued to target her. What shaky confidence she had at the beginning of this battle was quickly waning to complete dissolution. Despite all the countless, grueling hours of training she’d undergone, there was just no way she would be able to do this on her own.

“Kairi!” a voice called out through the smoke, ember, and ashes. She recognized it instantly, and how could she not? It was one that existed in almost every remaining memory of her childhood, her mundane classes at school, and the one she imagined every time she wrote a letter during her training days. It was the voice of the person who was there with her now, in the flesh, at this very moment.

She could do this. Together, with him.

Perhaps...

* * *

“ _Welp, time to turn in,_ ” Lea - no, Axel, concluded with a yawn, stretching a lanky arm over his head. “ _Catch ya in the morning, Kairi, old man._ ” Kairi returned the bid good night with a giggle, very aware of the exasperated sigh the “old man” let out.

“ _You would think the boy would have learned_ some _manners by now,”_ Merlin muttered under his breath. 

“ _Axel is Axel_ ,” Kairi chuckled, though there was an air of matter-of-factness in her statement. Though things had started off awkward between the two of them, Axel had quickly grown on her. He’d become almost like another big brother, the way Riku was. A small smile lifted her lips as her mind shifted to memories of him from earlier in the day when he’d come to drop off the garbs from Merlin and the Fairies. As always, not far behind her reminiscence of Riku were thoughts of a certain other someone.

“ _Unfortunately it would appear so.”_ Merlin shook his head before turning his bespectacled gaze back to focus on her. “ _Though I can’t say I’d advise you to follow most of his examples, I do think retiring for the night would do you some good as well, dear.”_

_“Right,”_ she responded, nodding in agreement. It had been another long, arduous day of brutal sparring and training in the forest, after all. Though time flowed differently here, rest and recovery between sessions were still a necessity. She spun on her heels, feeling blades of damp grass beneath the soles of her sneakers. The sound of chirping crickets and rustling leaves would be accompanying her on her way back, along with thoughts of Sora, out there somewhere among the stars that were scattered across the dark sky above her.

She’d only taken a few steps before she stopped in her tracks.

_“Is something the matter?”_ Merlin asked as she turned back around to face him.

_“Actually, Master Merlin, I did have a question about something,”_ she admitted. 

“ _And what might that be?”_

_“I was just thinking about Riku, and Sora,”_ she admitted, sheepishly tucking a tuft of her auburn hair behind her ear. “ _Back when we were in The World that Never Was...well, it was the first time all of us had been together in a year. I’d only just gotten my keyblade, so Sora and Riku did most of the fighting. But even though they hadn’t fought together in so long, it was still like they were completely in sync.”_ Her gaze fell to her thumbs, twiddling together by her chest. “ _When the time comes, and I have to fight side by side with them...well, is there some sort of skill that I need to learn, to be able to…”_ Not get in their way? To keep up with them? To somehow help elevate _their_ combat - no, she was getting ahead of herself.

Though her thoughts were unverbalized, there was a knowing look in the dark eyes behind Merlin’s half-moon shaped spectacles.

“ _The keyblade is a very special weapon, Kair_ i,” he began, his hand firm on her shoulder, the dangling fabric of his sleeve tickling the tiny hairs on her arm. “ _The fact that you are able to wield one is a testament to the strength of your heart, and your heart alone. There are many ways that that strength might manifest itself further during times of ire, like the special attacks and synchronization you saw between your friends.”_

_“And how exactly do I learn to “manifest” that kind of power?”_

“ _There is no way to learn it,”_ Merlin said gently, chuckling when he noted the bewilderment in her indigo eyes. “ _If your connection to people, or that one special person, is strong enough, then it will manifest itself on its own.”_

_“If the connection is strong enough,”_ Kairi parrotted, her gaze back up towards the night sky.

* * *

“Sora!” Kairi yelled back, leaping up off the ground and into the air. Stardust trailed behind her, her hair flying wildly in all directions as she glided through the mayhem, the sound of his voice calling her name her Polaris. Though she had to change directions in her path more than once, the welcomed sight of clouds, stars, and Sora’s outstretched hands soon greeted her. The shackles of her self-doubt came undone the moment her fingers intertwined with his, and that was when it happened.

A flash of blinding light encompassed them, and a sudden warmth pulsed through every fiber of her being. It bubbled in her chest and came to a boil when she felt something erupt through her back.

“Light!” Kairi and Sora both cried out, realizing what was happening. Their fingers were still intertwined with one hand as they both turned to face their enemy.

Decades of battles, of magic, of knowledge, and behind his armor Xehanort was still taken aback by the sight he beheld. The two children hovered above him, each having sprouted a brilliant, crystalline wing. Wispy feathers scattered about the arena as they both stared down on him, ready to make their next move.

Words weren’t needed as Sora and Kairi dove together, hand in hand, the momentum of wind and light carrying them. If Xehanort reacted at all, whatever effort he put in was futile. A cry of agony escaped him as he was flung backward, the attack not only connecting but overwhelming him. 

Still in sync, Sora and Kairi somersaulted in the air, light, feathers, and memories cascading down all around them. As it dissipated, Xehanort revealed himself, standing his ground and back on his feet once more. But the fear, the second-guessing, the self-deprecation that was in Kairi’s heart was gone as she looked back briefly at Sora, the gentleness in his sky blue eyes telling her what she already knew.

They could do it. Together.


End file.
